'The Dark Knight Rises' production notes released

Warner Bros. released a 49-page set of production notes from The Dark Knight Rises on the official site for the film. If you dive deep, there are a few pearls of spoilerific wisdom to be found about the story, cast and crew. Here are five little facts you may not have known before.

1. Not only is everyone’s favorite “Gentleman at Party,” Senator Patrick Leahy, in the batverse again, so is the mayor of Pittsburgh, Luke Ravenstahl. But who is Ravenstahl portraying? “Other Gentleman at Party,” “Remorseful Politican,” or “Relieved Muggee”? None of the above — he’s the kicker for the football team playing against the Gotham Rogues, of course!

2. Christian Bale is a happy-go-lucky guy. Anne Hathaway gushed over her costar in the notes. “I had so much fun working with Christian. He’s quick to laugh and have a good time, but he’s also so solid. He’s the kind of actor that raises your game.”

3. Bruce Wayne must have consulted This Old House and decided to put in a water feature in the new batcave — Atlantis style. Production designer Nathan Crowley describes how they added a genius extra camouflage to the Batcave “…so everything is hidden underwater. When you enter, it’s just a cave, but you press a button and up come these perfect cubes that hold different objects, from the Batsuit to a super computer.”

4. As we’ve come to expect, director Christopher Nolan takes ideas from the multilayered history of Batman and molds them into a more specific, grounded reality. Fans of the comic and the character of Bane know his immense physical power is supported by a reliance on the strength serum Venom, which is pumped directly into his body via tubes. In The Dark Knight Rises, Nolan has twisted this to have Bane reliant not on Venom, but on an anesthetic to prevent excruciating pain resulting from past injuries. “His life depends on it,” Nolan says.

5. If you’re familiar with the comic book story arc Knightfall, you know exactly how bad things could get for Batman, should Nolan follow that exact path. With the director no stranger to a downbeat ending, fans should fear the worst. Bale compounds this by saying, “This is the first time it appears highly unlikely that Batman will come out on top in a physical altercation.” The notes also state that Bale is “taking on the dual role of Bruce Wayne and Batman for the third and final time,” putting to rest rumors of further movies and perhaps solidifying the Knightfall theory.